Executive Summary

1. What Results Do You Want?

Preparing youth for adulthood creates both opportunities for them and savings for taxpayers. Youth who succeed have a clear sense of identity, a positive sense of self worth and opportunities to achieve. They are more likely to avoid risky behaviors—substance abuse and delinquency—that may yield lifelong impacts. See more information on priorities and indicators in this area.

2. How Are Your Kids?

Youth in detention have worse outcomes than similar youth who were not confined. Part of the explanation for this is inadequate and inhumane conditions in juvenile detention facilities. But regardless of the quality of care, young people who experience detention have higher rates of attempted suicide and psychiatric disorders, higher recidivism rates and are more likely to engage in adult criminal behavior. Therefore, reducing the inappropriate or unnecessary use of juvenile detention improves public safety and increases the likelihood that youth will avoid adult criminal behavior. See data for your state , and guidance for understanding root causes and projections , and setting targets .

3. What Can Policymakers Do?

STRATEGIES

Comprehensive juvenile detention reform was largely unheard of until 1992 with the launching of the Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative (JDAI). All detention reform efforts have since been modeled after JDAI, which has set the standard for detention reform nationally. JDAI sites have dramatically reduced reliance on detention, improved public safety outcomes, saved millions of dollars, and produced important new strategies to reduce unnecessary or inappropriate use of detention and improved the juvenile detention system. Key policy options that support juvenile detention outcomes include:

· Develop alternatives to detention . Detention numbers can be reduced by providing an array of research-based support services and supervision; such as ho me supervision, evening reporting centers, short-term shelter beds or foster placements, and community-based treatment options

· Require objective detention admission criteria and risk assessment . Objective, standardized criteria for determining the appropriate level of supervision for each child can reduce both detention admissions and the length of stay.

· Reduce racial disparities. State policymakers can improve disproportionate racial impacts by requiring the development of plans to achieve measurable improvement and monitoring the progress of those plans.

· Mandate safe conditions of confinement with appropriate services . Ensuring detention safety and providing detained youth with necessary services yields reductions in detention stays, prevents readmissions and limits the need for future, more restrictive supervision and treatment.

FINANCING

· Redeploy existing resources.

· Reinvest savings

· Maximize federal funds.

· Leverage private funding.

· Invest state general funds.

SUCCESS STORIES

· Reducing juvenile detention through state-level systems reforms.

· Reducing juvenile detention and producing savings by changing practice from the ground up .

· Reducing Disproportionate Minority Confinement in detention .

4. How Can You Ensure Success?

Policies must be linked to or contain provisions for, implementation and accountability in order to ensure the goals have been attained. Issues to consider are aligning needs and goals, providing resources, evaluating context, and identifying barriers. See more guidance on overseeing implementation and ensuring accountability .